Did the emperor Aurelian's big coin reform in the 270s AD shatter public trust in the money system? Did it shift value from faith in the government to just the metal in the coins? I wrote most of an article addressing these issues, but never got around to publishing it. So I use this podcast episode to make an argument that the system was already crumbling decades before Aurelian. And Aurelian's changes were in fact a clever fix. The price inflation that followed was disruptive, but it also proved the reform worked, clearing up confusion and stabilizing markets.

Read Haklai (2011), 'Aurelian’s Monetary Reform: Between Debasement and Public Trust'.

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Buy Professor Elliott's book:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Disease shaped population levels, military strength and the stability of imperial institutions in the Roman Empire. Smallpox, a highly lethal viral disease known from the early modern period and eradicated only in the twentieth century, has long been assumed to have been part of that ancient disease environment. A recent-ish article in the Journal of Roman Studies challenges that assumption, showing that there is no firm evidence that the classical form of smallpox existed in the Roman world. This article helped shape my own thinking in my book, Pox Romana, and I'm thrilled to take the time to explain the article's argument and why it matters for Roman history.

Read Newfield et al. (2022), 'Smallpox's Antiquity in Doubt'

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YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@ProfCPE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Buy Professor Elliott's book:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

363 AD: Emperor Julian, Rome’s last pagan ruler, wagered everything on a massive invasion of Persia to eclipse Alexander the Great and prove that the old gods blessed his empire. He crossed into Persia with tens of thousands of soldiers and a thousand supply ships. Fortresses fell, cities burned and Ctesiphon itself lay within reach. But Julian's careful efforts were undone by his own hubris. His death in battle ended both an emperor and pagan Rome’s final hope.

Donate: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/WZTWCMWCJJYFC⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@ProfCPE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Buy Professor Elliott's book:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.